“Woodlands Falconry and Bird of Prey Centre” will give the general public a chance to experience beautiful Birds of Prey at close quarters. The recently re-introduced Golden Eagle and Red Kite will be on view, as well as a selection of falcons, hawks and owls from around the world.
We will be offering you the chance to see these fantastic birds perform in the air in our flying displays. Also, you can get up close and handle these majestic birds as well as having the rare opportunity to take a pleasant walk through the quiet woodland accompanied by your very own hawk.

We are situated in Rathwood Home and Garden, just five minutes from Tullow County Carlow.

Contact us:
059-9156878 Wednesday to Sunday 10.30 ‘til 5

I got myself a new bird today. It’s only a baby and probably one of the ugliest birds I have ever seen.

There are two types of bird babies in the world, precocial; the pretty, cute, fluffy, endearing ones, and altricial; the helpless, ugly, more…

I hate rain. My birds hate rain, my kids hate rain and even my dogs hate rain. If there is a God wouldn’t you think he would have thought of a nicer way to water the Earth, or maybe Ireland is just the wrong place for me to live and practice falconry. more…

I made an awful bad mistake the other day. I put the birds out on the lawn to weather, this means to get them out of their night quarters, let them get some sun, fresh air, and to take a bath or a drink if they need it. It was a beautiful sunny day and on days like that I like to get them out early so they have all day to enjoy the weather, while obviously making sure they don’t overheat. But this is Ireland and they spend far too many days indoors waiting for the rain to stop. more…

There are two types of falconers in this world; those that love Harris Hawks, and those that don’t.

If everyone loved the same things, if everyone agreed on everything and thought the same the world would be a less colourful and interesting place, so this surely can only be a good thing.

Since the first Harris Hawks were introduced into the falconry circle just a few decades ago more…

The other day I was out with my two year old female Harris Hawk. While waiting for the rain to stop I sat in the jeep listening to the radio before the usual ceremony of putting on my wellies and jacket. The landscape was quite undulating with a steep drop off to the left, and as Joe Duffy’s phone lines opened and the callers complained about whatever was on the agenda that day, I noticed a raven and a hooded-crow more…

Different people have different ideas of what dog makes the perfect hunter’s companion. For some it’s the hyper-active Springer, a dog that just doesn’t let up and leaves no bush unturned. For others it’s the new world Labrador, a true gunner’s dog and a specialist retriever and if given a chance can be a good all-round hunter too. Many breeds that have been excellent hunters, finders and retrievers of game have sadly disappeared or become so rare in the field that they no more get a mention in working dog tales; Poodles come to mind, once thought to be the smartest of all working breeds, and the King Charles Spaniel, a small French breed, probably (and this is only my opinion) used in French falconry as the sparrow-hawkers companion. The reason more…

I just happened to be out exercising a falcon some weeks back, when I noticed someone watching me from a distance. After the bird had flown and was back up and feeding on the fist, the person approached and commented on how graceful the bird was, and what a pleasure it was to see him being put through his paces.  more…

It is days like today that makes living in Ireland tolerable. After the rain last night, today dawned a beautiful crisp clear morning and a more perfect day for flying falcons would not be possible. There was a good stiff breeze blowing as I gave my Saker falcon his daily exercise; stooping him at the lure to tire him out and build up some muscle. I gave him about five or six minutes of that and he was panting hard as I let him catch the lure.

My Lanner falcon then had her turn on the wing, more…

I had a very enjoyable day yesterday with ten of my hawks, the kids and a couple of helpers, in an estate where the house and gardens are open to the public. Usually they get 40 to 50 people in on a Sunday but with the help of a large sign outside and a notice in the paper advertising the event we mananged to draw 450 people last week and in my estimation well over 600 yesterday. The hawks and falcons behaved impecably and neither them or the kids bit anyone. more…